Crockettsville charity event set for this weekend

Chad Warrix and David Tolliver played during the 2009 Halfway to Hazard charity concert in Crockettsville. The duo will return this coming weekend for the sixth annual event. (photo by Cris Ritchie | Herald file)

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Chad Warrix and David Tolliver played during the 2009 Halfway to Hazard charity concert in Crockettsville. The duo will return this coming weekend for the sixth annual event. (photo by Cris Ritchie | Herald file)

As summer draws to a close, it may feel to many like there is nothing to look forward to with school starting back and vacations ending. However, a local annual event has given a number of people something to look forward to.

The 2013 Crockettsville Charity Concert and Trail Ride is being held for the sixth year in a row this weekend in Breathitt County. The event’s website boasts that it “features local talent, an all-star concert, and an ATV trail ride through Kentucky terrain while raising money and awareness for the Buckhorn Children and Family Services Charity.”

Janet Smith chairs the committee for the event and said this year, instead of the proceeds going solely to the Buckhorn Children’s Center they will be distributed a little differently.

“A portion of it will go to them, but the balance of the money is going to go to scholarships, for high school music scholarships for high school students,” Smith said.

Chad Warrix, half of the former band Halfway to Hazard, said he and his former band mate, David Tolliver, decided to start the charity six years ago to bring attention to music in the area and help the region’s youth further any musical dreams.

“We’re trying to get kids to be interested in music in Eastern Kentucky, which, I think, is such a strong heritage of music in the state,” Warrix said. “I think it’s good for kids, for their wellbeing, their mental health, it gives them something to do.”

Warrix said the event was started with the intention of using the proceeds to fund a scholarship, but it has taken years to get everything straightened out. Now, he said the committee plans to offer scholarships to 12 different school districts in the area, from Knott County to Floyd County.

“We still want to help Buckhorn Children’s Center as well, but my whole dream, or vision if you may, was to kind of do something with music with scholarships … and combining that with the concert and kind of combining all of those things and keeping it local,” he said.

Smith said the committee does not know yet how much the scholarship will be for because the event has not been held and therefore money has not been collected. However, if the past five years are any indication, the event should bring in a sizable amount.

“In the five years that we have done this event, we’ve raised $575,000. Hopefully this is going to be another great year,” Smith said.

Warrix said he and everyone involved is very excited not only for the event itself but for the possibilities the scholarships open up for students in the area

“We want to make sure we get it right,” he said. “It’s just wonderful to be in the position to know that we’re making this money off of a volunteer event — and people just gushing with pride to be a part of this event — and know then that the money that we’re making from it … is actually going to help get kids in college and to get an education and continue their love for music. It’s just pretty powerful.”

The charity event will be held Sept. 7-8 with the gates opening at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Smith said admission is $10 per person and $25 per carload, and seating is first come first serve.

“For artists we have Lee Brice, Troy Gentery, Keith Anderson, Halway to Hazard, Danielle Peck, Christian Kane, and we have GAC’s Storme Warren,” Smith added. “We have a mud bog going on. We have the Monster Energy Motocross Stunt Team, and on Sunday we have a 42 mile ATV ride.”

The trail ride will cover stretches of highway along KY Highway 315 and 28. The Perry County Fiscal Court passed a resolution earlier this month to allow the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on those highways for the two days of the charity event.

Warrix said while the event may mean a lot of hard work for those involved, it’s still worth it when the gates open.

“I always say, man this is exhausting, but when you pull in over there and see the event area you’re like wow. It kind of re-energizes you,” he said.

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